What user levels do you like in Little Big Planet 2?

This was supposed to be a quick post accompanying this week’s review of Little Big Planet 2 that covered some of the better user levels that had been created so far. After all, over the weekend I only saw a few dozen LBP2-specific titles that I filtered out, of which there already a few standouts. Maybe I wasn’t paying enough attention, because as of Monday night, that number had grown to more than 14,000 levels (and probably more by the time you read this). I’m not seeing the same standouts like there were in from the first game yet (the game was just released this morning after all). But seeing as how this was never going to be a definitive list, I’ll just throw out a few levels I found interesting and hope you’ll point out a few for me in the comments.

Blast Radius (by JOHNEE): Twin-stick shooters that owe a debt to Asteroids and Geometry Wars will probably be a common sight, but few can match the visual polish of this one. Not only are there lots of explosions big and small, but even the background changes as an orbiting planet slowly reveals a blindingly bright star. Plus you get multiple weapons and a smart bomb where the camera does a nice little zoom as the screen goes white.

Omicron: Neon City (by URBANDEVILL): Essentially the opening moments of an RPG where nothing much happens until the end (where “THAT … there is … something wrong!”). But there’s something about the top down perspective and Tron-inspired visuals that manages to convey a lot of atmosphere without too many fancy tricks beyond some fancy lighting effects. Exactly the sort of unexpected project you’d want to see pop up.

Superman: Brainiac Attacks (created by GAMEOVERGREGGY): You can’t help but smile at the bootlegged quality of this shooter, which is essentially cobbled together from a few copied images of Superman and Brainiac. You can practically smell the wet glue and cardboard. And yet it’s a decent showcase of the new controlinator features as well as the anything-goes, DIY spirit of Little Big Planet 2.